GOP sues California over ballot language that accurately describes voter ID measure

By Matt Cohen

Election workers stand outside the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office during California's primary election. Voters across California cast ballots in races ranging from local offices to statewide contests, including the closely watched gubernatorial primary that will help determine who advances in the race to succeed California Governor. As ballots continue to arrive and be verified throughout Election Day, election officials work to tabulate results while ensuring the accuracy and security of the voting process ahead of the November general election. (Photo by Michael Ho Wai Lee / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

The GOP backers of a sweeping voter ID measure set to appear on California’s ballot in November are suing state officials for slightly altering the proposal’s language for voters.

The Republican plaintiffs, led by California Assemblyman Carl DeMaio (R), said that California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D) changed a key line of the language to say that the proposed measure “prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.”

The suit alleges that the new language is inaccurate because the measure wouldn’t stop Californians from voting, just from having their vote counted.

It “regulates which ballots are counted, not whether a citizen may cast one,” the GOP argues.

The original text in the ballot measure’s language said that the new proposed voter ID rule “establishes additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements.”

It’s not unusual for state officials to lightly edit the summary language of a ballot initiative for voters for simplicity. In California, there’s a 75-word maximum for ballot language summary. 

“We are reviewing the petition,” a spokesperson for Bonta’s office said in an email to Democracy Docket. “We take our duty to prepare a title and summary and ballot label seriously, and we are confident the court will agree we have faithfully executed that duty here.”

In April, a GOP-backed group led by DeMaio gathered more than 962,000 signatures to get the anti-voting initiative placed on the midterm ballot for voters in the fall. While the measure was pitched to California voters as a voter ID law — requiring all registered voters to show ID when they cast a ballot — the full text goes significantly further, also changing the rules for mail voting. 

Voters casting a mail ballot would be required to write identifying information — such as the last four digits of a driver’s license, Social Security number or other document — on the outside of their ballot envelope. Election officials would then be required to verify that information before counting the ballot.

The summary ballot language altered by Bonta’s office clarifies for voters the proposed measure “invalidates mail ballots that do not have the last four digits of designated government-issued identification number written on envelope.”

The revised ballot summary language also says the measure “Prohibits voting in person without presenting government-issued identification.”

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs said that the revised language for describing the changes to in-person and mail voting mischaracterized the ballot measure.

“Both lead with the measure characterized as a prohibition on voting even though the title summary’s own example concedes that a mismatched ballot ‘would not count.’” 

In an interview with local media, DeMaio blasted Bonta for trying to manipulate voters with the ballot language change. 

“What happened is corruption, deception at the hands of a Sacramento politician who’s gotten away with it for so many years,” DeMaio said. “Rob Bonta has decided to try to rig the election against Prop 39 by changing at the last minute the ballot title to try to manipulate voters into voting no on what ordinarily would be a 70% supported issue.”